Sharice Davids to vote for Trump impeachment articles: ‘The facts are uncontested’

Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.) has announced plans to vote in favor of the articles of impeachment against President Trump House Democrats unveiled Tuesday.

The freshman Democrat said in a statement she did not arrive at her decision to back the charges of obstruction of Congress and abuse of power lightly, adding: “It is not what I came to Congress to do.” 

“But I took an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution, and I take that responsibility very seriously,” she said.

Davids won election to Kansas’s 3rd District by beating out a four-term Republican incumbent, former Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-Kan.), last year. Her district supported Hillary Clinton in the polls by 1 point in the 2016 presidential election. However, the district also backed John McCain and Mitt Romney in the 2008 and 2012 presidential contests.

Davids’s office said her win made her the first Kansas Democrat to be elected to Congress in a decade. Davids is the only Democrat representing Kansas in Congress.

“The evidence uncovered by the House impeachment inquiry is overwhelming. And the facts are uncontested,” she said in the statement. “President Trump used the office of the Presidency to solicit foreign interference in our elections for his own personal, political benefit.” 

“He pressured Ukraine’s President to investigate his political rival, while withholding millions in taxpayer-funded aide to Ukraine,” she continued. “And since this information came to light, President Trump has defied congressional subpoenas, withholding critical documents and testimony.” 

House Democrats unveiled articles of impeachment against the president at a press conference on Tuesday morning, exactly 11 weeks after Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced the formal launch of the impeachment inquiry into Trump’s dealings in Ukraine. 

The articles were the result of weeks of investigation by lawmakers into whether Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine in exchange for the announcement of politically favorable investigations. The announcement by House Democrats on Tuesday also comes after weeks of public hearings. 

In her statement on Tuesday, Davids said it was “a sad day for our country.” 

“But we must continue to make progress on the issues impacting Kansas’ Third District, and that is exactly what I intend to do,” she continued.

She also added in the statement that it remains her “top priority to deliver results for the people of Kansas” and touted a recent bipartisan agreement reached on the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement that she said “will bolster Kansas’ economy and support our workers.”